Kick the habit by committing to quit!

October 27, 2015

3 min read

Each year on the third Thursday in November, the American Cancer Society encourages tobacco users to participate in the Great American Smokeout. This year, the Great American Smokeout is November 19. The goal of this important day is to quit tobacco or begin implementing a quit plan. If you’re a tobacco user, the best step you can take toward your health and wellness is quitting.

Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable deaths worldwide. Nicotine might make you feel good temporarily, but the habit is killing you. It causes cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and many other health risks.

Take Steps Toward Quitting

Determine a quit date. Choose a day when you will feel most comfortable with quitting. You can choose any day or a date with significance such as the Great American Smokeout, your anniversary, your child’s birthday, etc.

Talk to your doctor. You’ll need to do this if you decide to use medication. It is also a good conversation to have before starting to use NRTs.

Create a list of healthy things you can do other than using tobacco. Regardless of the method you choose, you need to create this list. NRTs and medication will help alleviate the physical symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, but the mental triggers will still be present. If you’re tapering or quitting cold turkey, this list becomes even more important. Ideas include: take a walk, start to exercise, chew gum, drink water, talk to a friend, eat a healthy snack, etc.

Seek support. Having someone you can rely on to talk out your cravings, help acknowledge your successes and troubleshoot any bumps in the road is extremely helpful in successfully quitting tobacco.

Make a plan to reward yourself. Rewards can be great motivators and help with follow-through. Plus, you’ll be saving money by quitting so you may have some extra cash to spend elsewhere (although rewards don’t have to cost money!).

Set yourself up for success. Make sure you have everything you need to be successful. Gum, mints, toothpicks, whatever is necessary. Clean up your house, apartment, car and office; make these places free of tobacco paraphernalia. Freshen up everything and try to eliminate anything that will remind you of your tobacco use.

Quitting tobacco can be a challenge. But the more support, information and resources you have available, the greater the chance you have of staying quit.

For Health Advocate Members

If you’re a Health Advocate member with access to the coaching feature of our Wellness Program, connect with a Wellness Coach for support and guidance. They’re extensively trained in tobacco cessation to help you quit and stay quit. You can also sign up for our Commit to Quit Tobacco campaign on your Wellness website, available now and ending on November 19th, to learn how to break the habit for good.

Finding Support

If you’re not a Health Advocate member, there are places where you can get support, too! Check out this resource from Smokefree.gov to get free help.

You may also like

Diaphragmatic breathing (also referred to as belly breathing) is a great skill to master for stress relief, maximizing oxygen use and enhancing aerobic exercise. It may come as a surprise to you, but diaphragmatic breathing is actually considered an...

As many people are spending more time at home, the clutter, dust bunnies and fingerprints on the windows that can normally be ignored may be more obvious and bothersome than in normal times. And in the current environment, cleaning has...

There are a number of important health observances happening this month. We have compiled a variety of resources so that you have quick, easy access to tips and information to help you get healthier. For some observances, we’re also including...